POTD: March 25th

Another poem from Audlem Printers' calendar:

"The Soldier"

...is a poem written by Rupert Brooke written at the beginning of the First World War in 1914, as part of a series of sonnets written by Rupert Brooke. Brooke himself, predominantly a prewar poet, died the year before "The Soldier" was published.

The poem the memoirs of a deceased soldier who declares his patriotism to his homeland by declaring that his sacrifice will be the eternal ownership of England of the small portion of land where his body is buried. The poem appears to not follow the normal purpose of a Petrarchan/Italian sonnet either. It does not truly go into detail about a predicament/resolution, as is customary with this form; rather, the atmosphere remains constantly in the blissful state of the English soldier.

The poem's cultural influence extended right to the end of the century – lyrics in "The Gunner's Dream", a track on the Pink Floyd album "The Final Cut", make reference to "The Soldier", whilst in the Blackadder Goes Forth episode "Major Star", Captain Blackadder says "If I should die, think only this of me, I'll be back to get you."

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